25-06 AND TEENS

[MACHINIST]

I have a 25-06 barrel for my encore and was wondering if in a few years my daughter(now 8)will be able to go with me and possibly shot this caliber without causing to much damage.I have heard that the recoil from this round is about the same as a 243 but I haven't shot either.This barrel I just acquired in a trade and will probably keep for yotes and woodchucks if it can pull double duty if not it will hit the auction block to fund a 243 barrel or something that can do effective deer and yote dispersal.Well what does everyone think?

[mjbgalt]

i had a .243 for many years. i sold mine and bought a .25-06. thats the best endorsement i can give it.

it does kick probably 10% more and makes that much more noise. but if you're shooting already whats a tiny increase?

it can shoot 75 grain bullets on up to 120 grains.

its easy to reload for, took me 2 tries to find an accurate load.

you can load it DOWN to .243 levels if you want.

i love mine.

-Matt

[Wyo. Coyote Hunter]

  I no long own any 6mm's. As for the 243 vs 25-06, matt made and excellent point. Light loads can be made for the .25. It can be loaded to 243 recoil. The .243 can not be loaded to 25-06 potential. As your daughter grows, it would be the better round in my opinion. Plus with the Encore you could start her  out with a light caliber like 222 then switch to the heavier barrel for a few rounds before deer hunting.

[JASmith]

The 25-06 is one of the flattest shooting cartridges you can find.  As for the .243, the .257 Roberts is every bit as good and probably a better cartridge with very much the same level of recoil.  The 25-06 can be loaded down to the .257 Roberts and lower so she can develop confidence.

Find a light load (75 gr bullet) that she likes and encourage her to shoot it a lot!  Recoil won't be much greater than the .223.  The deer-hunting loads (.257 or 25-06 equivalent) can wait until she falls in love with the rifle!

[Sweetwater]

The 25-06 is one of the flattest shooting cartridges you can find.  As for the .243, the .257 Roberts is every bit as good and probably a better cartridge with very much the same level of recoil.  The 25-06 can be loaded down to the .257 Roberts and lower so she can develop confidence.

Find a light load (75 gr bullet) that she likes and encourage her to shoot it a lot!  Recoil won't be much greater than the .223.  The deer-hunting loads (.257 or 25-06 equivalent) can wait until she falls in love with the rifle!

Great Point!!

Regards,
Sweetwater

[Grumulkin]

I think the main thing about kids and recoil is that adults make such a big deal about it.  Treat recoil matter of factly and I have little doubt that pretty much any red blooded American teen can handle the pretty mild recoil of a 25/06.

When my son was about 9, I had stainless steel barrels in both 22 LR and 30/30 Winchester for my Contender.  One day whilst shooting, on some pretense, I took the Contender with the 22 LR barrel on it up to the house, put the 30/30 Winchester barrel on it, put a round in the chamber and brought it back to my shooting range.  I handed it to my son with the caution to hold it firmly.  He said, "dad, it doesn't kick very hard."  The look on his face when he touched the round off was priceless.

My son has never whined about recoil because he knew he would get little symathy from me.  He has shot my 50 AE, etc. and has never had to take Pamprin to deal with recoil.

Then there was my daughter with the 12 gauge shotgun...

[MACHINIST]

Thanks guys I will be doing some farting around with it after deer season is over.I will be ordering some lighter grain bullets to try.

[deerandduck]

Just breaking my daughter (now 9) into deer hunting.  Got her a Handi in 243.  I downloaded some 85 gr Sierras to about 2400 fps.  She tried it the other day and did OK.  She did complain some about the recoil but this was the only thing she's shot except a 22 rifle.  I think she will do fine.  As she grows, I'll just increase the load back to a normal 243.  Expecting her shots to be about 50 yds or less.  I never had to do this with my 2 now older teenage boys (19 & 17).  Good luck with your daughter.
Deerandduck

[yooper77]

25-06 Remington should be fine for teens.

My daughter is 11, and she does great with her Savage Mark I 22 LR with Weaver RV-7 , 2.5-7x28mm scope and Millet rings.

I cut down a adult synthetic stock and installed a slip-on Limbsaver recoil pad for my T/C Encore.
I have the following barrels for her to develop proper shooting skills, plus I can use them:

24” T/C 223 Remington barrel with Weaver V10, 2-10-38mm scope and Leupold dual dovetailed base with Leupold medium rings.

24” T/C 243 Winchester barrel with Leupold Vari-X II, 3-9x40mm scope and Leupold dual dovetailed base with Leupold medium rings.

24” T/C 7mm-08 Remington barrel with Leupold VX-II, 3-9x40mm scope and Leupold dual dovetailed base with Leupold medium rings.

I also have:

26” T/C 209X50 barrel with Weaver V9, 3-9-38mm scope and Leupold Quick Release base with Leupold medium rings.


yooper77

[BBF]

Of all the posts so far I haven't seen any mentioning about the fit of the rifle. I am therefore presuming that the stocks have been cut to fit.

[DDZ]

Also a good recoil pad can work wonders.

[41 mag]

To answer your immediate question, the noise will probably be more annoying to her than will be the recoil. Put her in both, some soft foam plugs as well as a good set of muffs and she should do fine with either. The thing I have found with kids is they relate to the noise levels more than recoil, at least with the ones I have gotten into shooting. The louder it is the more they think it will kick. I have a short barrel .308 which is a loud little critter, but recoil is not bad at all, and my nephew would rather shoot the 7 mag over it simply due to how loud it was to him. He just couldn't get it, that the recoil wasn't as bad as it sounded.   

My daughter started out at 6 and her son at 3.5 shooting with me. Their choices not me pushing them into it. The biggest thing to them was being out there hunting not what they were shooting. The grandson did take reducing the loads for my compact .308 down, but he dropped his first feral hog in it's tracks at 50 yds just before his 5th birthday. The daughter got her first deer with my 25 just before her 9th.

If they are interested in it they will adjust and accept what the rifle does when the trigger is pulled. Just start out with a few rounds at a sitting like 3-5 and adjust to more as they want. You will find in most cases after the first few sittings they will ask if they can shoot more. I would let them shoot the .22 for a few rounds to get their trigger finger ready and then move into the high power stuff, then back to the .22 for more trigger work. After a few outings they weren't interested much in the .22 anymore.

Good luck with your daughter, it is a great thing to pass along the shooting and hunting skills and be by their side when the moment comes for them to become hunters. Just don't push them into it and they seem to fall right in. Above all however, when hunting, it is always about being out there in the outdoors enjoying the wild life and God's creations over the kill, and even the lowliest spike buck or doe, is a trophy, depending on the circumstances of the hunt. Never make it out to be, the biggest has to be the best, or they will get tired of waiting for the ones they see on TV and will probably never see.

[Val]

A had a 15 year old teenage gal shoot my .243 with 100 grain partitions which I use as a deer load. This gal weighs about 90 pounds soak and wet. She had no problem with my .243. A 100 grain partition will drop any deer.

[Coyote Hunter]

I just got back from an elk hunt where I saw a 6x6 bull, a cow and a 4x4 buck that had been taken with a .25-06 and 117g Hornady bullets.  By a 12 year old girl from Michigan...

The bull took two shots, although the second was probably unnecesary.  The others were one-shot affairs.

[Tonk]

I personally know that young kids out to shoot for the fist time especially are subject to pain much more so than adults realize often as not. No one wants to put a negative thought in the mind of a young shooter but if you hand them a rifle with to much recoil, while they are sitting at a bench, it will surely happen regardless if they tell you are not.

Now in calibers such as the .223, .243, .257-Roberts and belive it or not, the 30-30 Winchester don't have that much recoil but the rifle must fit the child. The lever guns can be a bit cumbersome to a young shooter but the recoil is very manageable in the tune of 8 to 11 pounds of felt recoil. Perhaps still to much for a young 8 year old girl mind you.

The 25-06 is a great dual purpose caliber but remember it is a 30-06 case and unless those rounds are loaded down with less powder, even an 80 grain bullet will bite their shoulder depending on the size of the youngster. I will give you some RECOIL figures in comparison of various calibers.
30/30 Winchester with 150 gn bullet at 2200fps =9-lbs recoil.  170grn at 2000fps = 8-lbs felt recoil. Plenty to kill any whitetail deer in the woods or fields.
.243 Winchestser 100grn  bullet @ 2700fps = 7-lbs felt recoil, now up that to 3000fps and you get 11-lbs.
,25.06 with 100grn bullet @ 2800fps = 8-lbs, up to 2900fps=10-lbs. 120 grn bullet at 2900fps = 13-lbs recoil.

.

[SHOOTALL]

Felt kick is different to each person . To begin how much will she weigh ? how tall will she be ? etc. Will the gun have a stock to fit her or you ? Alot of women full grown shoot youth stocks . Some are called lady-youth stocks . The gr bullet weight and powder charge will make a difference as will the report (how loud ).
 If the gun fits and she can stand a loud noise and take a smack to the cheek and tap on the shoulder she should do just fine . BUT the worst thing you can let happen is it hurt and not be fun .

[huntswithdogs]

Get an extra stock and cut it down. Add a good recoil pad to it and she'll have no problems. My 9year old grandson is shooting a 243 regularlly right now. When he started shoot it, it was full length. My son cut it down and repadded it for him after he(the grandbaby) claimed it as his.
Get her some quality hearing protectors. Plugs and muffs may be the best. I will agree whole heartedly about the noise hurting worse than the recoil.


HWD